Student column: High school’s not like it is in movies

Talk about it

Everyone wishes their life could be like the movies: all smiles and laughs, more passing time than class, stupid drama that gets resolved in the next episode, and no big issues except what they’re gonna do after school. But sadly, that doesn’t happen in reality. Movies always put an unrealistic vision in our head about how life is gonna be: For example, in a lot of movies everyone dresses all nice to go to school every day, when in reality all people usually wear are jeans and sweatshirts. Then there are movies that show all the high school kids having all this free time to do crazy stuff with their friends, when in actuality most teens don’t have free time until the weekend comes – maybe.

Today I decided to make a small list of different things that movies give us false pictures of, and the reality of the facts. I was thinking back to when I first started middle school (and high school) and all the things that kept me up at night worrying. I wish someone would have told me some of these things. I really didn’t have anything to worry about, but with all the movies and television shows I watched I didn’t know any better.

Movies: People dress nice for school every day: heels, skirts, button downs, hair all nice, etc.

Reality: Girls wear yoga pants and/or leggings and boys wear sweatpants a lot of days, and when they don’t they’re usually just wearing a pair of jeans. At my high school a lot of people only dress up on days where they are having a sporting event that night.

Movies: There are mean bullies on the bus who pour milk all over your head.

Reality: No one will pour milk on you. Sadly, there are bullies. But they won’t do anything of that sort.

Movies: Passing time seems longer than the classes.

Reality: The classes drag on and on but passing time is the fastest five minutes of the day.

Movies: The “popular crowd” rules the school, and is always the leader of all the extra-curricular clubs and activities.

Reality: This couldn’t be further from the truth! Farmington High School, at least, has so many programs that students can join that everyone finds their own place to “rule” and be the leader. Everyone just needs to find where they’re comfortable: band, choir, sports, student council, etc.

As you can see, middle school/high school turned out to be a lot different than I thought it was going to be, and I cannot be the only one that thought things like these. Because of the stereotypes that movies show, I was terrified to start in the “big kid school.” Something that’s kind of funny is that these movies and television shows call themselves reality, but they’re really not. I thought it was kind of ironic.

Marissa Opp is a student at Farmington High School.

Tags: high school, opinion, farmington, commentaries